Assessing DNA Damage Using a Reporter Gene System

It is of extreme importance to determine the genotoxicity of potential pharmaceutical products as it can drastically affect the potential use of those compounds. Described in this chapter is a system based in eukaryotic yeast cells that utilizes an endogenous DNA damage-responsive gene promoter and a reporter gene fusion to assess the ability of the test compounds to damage DNA. This system has been demonstrated to identify a broad range of DNA-damaging agents that show high correlation to rodent carcinogens. Furthermore, the system offers a cost effective, safe, reliable and rapid screen for genotoxic agents.